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The Businesscasefor Corporate Social Reponsibilityin Education
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The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Education
Book · January 2013
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The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Education
14
The Business Case for Corporate
Social Responsibility in Education
Elena Bundaleska, University American College Skopje,
Fyrom
Makedonka Dimitrova, University American College
Skopje, Fyrom
'Looking to the future, we see that one of the things the crisis of 2008 has shown us is that, we are pushing the natural resources to the limit, and that at any time we want to continue growing worldwide, we are going to experience new crises with natural resources' (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010). Another much dreaded consequence of the crisis is that unemployment remains high in many countries, and many workers remain trapped in low-paid jobs, with little social protection. Having said the above it is becoming more and more clear to everyone that the 'long-term viability and success of businesses will depend on its capacity to manage environmental, social and governance concerns, and to create sustainable values through innovation and new business models adapted to the changing global environment' (UNPRME 2008). This is why, though since its beginnings, corporate social responsibility has experienced a certain increase of popularity, it is still important to continue writing about it, thus reminding people and businesses, time and time again, of its existence and importance, and maybe also take it to new levels and challenges. It is well known that corporate social responsibility 1 (hereinafter: CSR) encourages positive impact through activities
1 An interesting definition of corporate social responsibility is also offered by the so-called Brundtland Report : 'Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (United Nations 1987).
The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Education
implementation, and disclosure of responsible corporate policies and practices (UN Global Compact). Inspired by the principles of the Initiative and the potential of what can be accomplished, the United Nations broadened its scope by 'trying to formulate some principles to reform and change gradually the business education toward sustainability' (Alcaraz & Thiruvattal, 2010). This is how the Principles for Responsible Management Education were born. The six Principles for Responsible Management Education aim to noticeably impact the learning and educational practices that take place in business schools, and are:
To develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy; To incorporate into academic activities and curricula the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact; To create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership; To engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental, and economic value; To interact with managers of business corporations to extend knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meet these challenges; To facilitate and support dialog and debate among educators, business, government, consumers, media, civil society organizations, and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.
Specifics of Academic Institutions
Throughout the years academic institutions have been and will continue to be sanctuaries of many individuals, which gives them great potential and a never-ending audience to pass on
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their experience, best practices, to generate knowledge and share influence. One of the reasons why academic institutions are to be regarded as special is because not only that they can contribute in the long-term environmental, human and social values creation the same ways other businesses do, but because they have been blessed with having the abilities to do much more than the others. They have the means and the opportunity to influence the future. 'Through business education, research, management development programs, training, and other pervasive, but less tangible, activities, such as the spread and advocacy of new values and ideas, academic institutions help shape the attitudes and behaviour of future business leaders' (UN Global Compact 2007). Accordingly, academic institutions are unique not only because they serve as an example of the values and attitudes they convey to the students, but because they simultaneously:
Form or at least influence opinions, values and ideas, Have not only the opportunities, but also the means to do research, Have the means to address changing needs, including the impact on society their programs, services, and operations make, Flourish from challenges, Should not be driven primarily and exclusively by profit 1.
Taking into consideration the above specifics of the academic institutions it is obvious that they have been out of sight for far too long and it is time for them to take the lead in dealing with the critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.
How Can Academic Institutions be Socially Responsible
The Renewed EU Strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility has devoted half page (page 12, item 4) on education, under the title Further integrating CSR into education, training and research. The Document stresses two main
1 Even though, according to Blumenstyk (2000) 'in the last years, the growth of for-profit educational providers has been one of the most watched trends in higher education.'
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World, Topics in Sustainable Business (Leeds’ Center for Education on Social Responsibility), or other courses that challenge students to evaluate business behaviour along environmental, social, and ethical dimensions should be included, both on graduate and postgraduate levels. Moreover, such courses should not only be available to the business students, but to law, politics, languages and even design students. A good example of such initiative is the curricula in the Kolding School of Design, Denmark, where 'design responsibility and sustainability are included in three courses, in order to create awareness of the criteria for design, the effects of design and perhaps most importantly of the designer’s ability to influence the design process from an idea to an end product' (Leerberg, Riisberg & Boutrup, 2010). Moreover, in the paper discussing Kolding School of Design approach, the authors conclude that 'ideally, responsibility and sustainability would be an integrated part of all courses in the design curriculum, not just in few selected ones, and will be taught at all levels of studying' (Leerberg, Riisberg & Boutrup, 2010), as oppose to being offered only to upper level studies. Additionally, postgraduate studies specialized in corporate social responsibility, where students from different fields of study will be able to jointly partake and learn, should be designed. 2) Corporate Social Responsibility Centers: CSR or similar centers should be established within the schools and universities in order initiate and support cooperation among affected parties, oversee the inclusion of long-term sustainability values in class discussions in all the areas of education, organize activities, joint projects, do research, publish, write case studies, etc. The establishment and operation of the Center for Education on Social Responsibility at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado may serve as an example of a substantial infusion of values and social responsibility throughout all years of a public business school program. 3) Raising awareness and understanding: Variety of events, such as seminars, workshops, trainings, conferences, brochures and exhibitions should be organized in order to raise and reinforce the overall understanding of CSR. Inviting high-level executives to present ethical dilemmas they have faced in running the businesses, and simultaneously asking the students to recommend resolutions to the dilemmas, may prove to be effective.. Other initiatives, where the students will be provided an opportunity to develop proactive business strategies to impact
The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Education
pending issues, such as global poverty (Center for Education on Social Responsibility), or to jointly work on projects and apply for funding of those projects, should also be organized.. Annual conferences on topics related to CSR should become tradition. 4) Valuing Student Effort: Practices of giving awards or certificates to student projects and activities related to CSR may also prove effective in enabling effective learning experiences and developing student capabilities. Principle 4 - To engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances understanding about the role, dynamics, and impact of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value. Things that can (or should) be done: 1) Student Research: Academic institutions should not only stimulate their faculty to do research, but also involve the students in the research. Individual or group research activities will enable the students to broaden their views and acquire practical experience. It will be more effective if the research topics are oriented more towards helping the practice, rather than enhancing the theory. The topics may range from 'identifying current vulnerabilities and predicting future pitfalls in business practices, developing crisis prevention processes or crisis handling scenarios, making the business case for social responsibility by evaluating all the costs and benefits, to identifying and managing positive and negative impacts of business activities on society' (Harvard Business School). 2) Responsible Conduct of Research: 'Recent studies suggest that rates of questionable research practices and scientific misconduct are both high and considerably underreported. In part, this may be due to the fact that some ethical norms (e., authorship assignment) are far from clear and researchers are unsure how to respond to perceived misconduct' (DuBois & Dueker, 2009). There are some initiatives, such as the one of the Saint Louis University and U. Office of Research Integrity 1 to develop a consensus on the overarching goals and teaching content of responsible conduct of research and provide recommendations. However, it should not end there. More initiatives of similar focus should be instigated, with their recommendations being implemented, not conveniently overlooked.
1 See more about this initiative in the Newsletter published by the US Office of Research Integrity, at ori.hhs/documents/newsletters/vol17_no 3
The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Education
education process, courses should be designed to educate them, or refresh their knowledge on the social, human and environmental impact their day to day activities and decisions have, now and in the future. Some executives are already aware of this. However, the ones that are not aware or simply choose to overlook the importance of the topic, need to be inspired. Efforts should be made to convince them that there can be an efficient alignment of business strategies and corporate social responsibility, creating competitive advantages for the business they run. 4) Integrated Reporting: Integrating social responsibility metrics into general performance management systems can help prove the business case behind being socially responsible and give policymakers and companies added impetus to increase transparency around environmental, social, and governance performance (Blanding, 2011). 'The trend of integrated sustainability reporting picked up steam as consumers, investors, and civil society in general increasingly demonstrated that they value the social responsibility of businesses. Another major boost for the concept came after several countries began requiring that companies report their metrics on environmental footprint, worker safety, and similar issues in a systematic, uniform way' (Blanding, 2011). What academic institutions can do in this area is first and foremost start integrating CSR or sustainability reports into their financial reports. Next, through publications, trainings, debates and other events, they can draw attention to the issue and potentially initiate necessary legal changes in the respective countries where they operate. 1 There is much more that can be said about providing responsible education, and this paper does not tend to be all inclusive. As CSR is 'much more about “listening” as it is about “talking”' (Eccles & Serafeim, 2011), this paper is intended to give ideas and initial guidelines and let academic institutions develop from there.
1 'Countries such as South Africa and France, recently expanded their mandatory reporting laws to require that companies report their financial and environmental, social & governance performance in a single integrated annual report' (Blanding, 2011).
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Do Academic Institutions have the Business Case for being Socially Responsible
Being socially responsible means a 'significant change in corporate behavior, since it requires a more holistic view regarding financial, natural and human resource allocation decisions, and the interdependencies between them' (Eccles & Serafeim, 2011). Ordinarily, academic institutions should voluntarily be committed to engaging in a continuous process of incorporating into their activities and scope of influence the values of global social responsibility. However, even if they should not be driven primarily and exclusively by profit, the profit dimension of being socially responsible can not be overlooked. Academic institutions teach business. Hence, they should practice what they teach. Consequently, the question: Is there a business case for the academic institutions for being socially responsible deserves attention. Social responsibility commands 'longer-term view, since improved financial performance from better use of natural and human resources usually isn't reflected in the next quarter's earnings' (Eccles & Serafeim, 2011). However, the research has shown a business case for businesses to take CSR seriously. 'Investors are starting to show signs that corporate performance in social and environmental areas is almost as important to the public as performance in financial areas' (Hurst, 2004). The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide and the Bloomberg Professional Environmental, Social, and Governance Data Service are just few examples of this. Sound business judgment can be shown even with simple, almost effortless socially responsible actions, such as replacing paper communication with electronic communication. This is considered socially responsible since it saves natural resources, but it is certainly profit “responsible” as well, since it decreases the costs institutions have. This is especially true for academic institutions which typically deal with a lot of paperwork. Furthermore, organizing events may include spending money at the moment, but if it helps academic institutions improve their reputation and image, thus attract new students, the benefits are obvious. A more complex and time consuming examples can also show business case. Developing and implementing carbon action plans, or building environment friendly campuses definitely
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Harvard Business School. Executive Education Course: Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies to Create Business and Social Value. Available at exed.hbs/programs/csr/Pages/curri culum [1 November 2011]. Hurst, N. (2004). 'Corporate Ethics, Governance and Social Responsibility: Comparing European Business Practices to those in the United States.' Santa Clara University. Available at scu/ethics/publications/submitted/hurst/comp aritive_study [10 October 2011. Leerberg, M., V. Riisberg & J. Boutrup (2010). 'Design responsibility and sustainable design as reflective practice: an educational challenge.' Sustainable Development 18(5): 306-317. Business Source Complete , EBSCO host. Available at web. com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6b22eacc-eff0-4a94-a044- 115f038be0eb%40sessionmgr112&vid=7&hid=10 [25 October 2011]. United Nations (1987). Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development. Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. United Nations Document A/42/427 ('The Brundtland Report'). Available at un-documents/ocf-02.htm [16 November 2011]. United Nations Global Compact (2007). The Principles for Responsible Management Education (2007). New York City: United Nations Global Compact. Available at unprme/resource- docs/PRME [10 November 2011]. United Nations Global Compact. About the UN Global Compact. Available at globalcompactfoundation/about- ungc [5 November 2011]. UNPRME. (2008). Outcome Statement of the 1st Global Forum for Responsible Management Education (2008). New York City: December 5-6, 2008.
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The Businesscasefor Corporate Social Reponsibilityin Education
Kurs: Grundlagen Medienmarketing und PR-Management
Universität: Hochschule Mittweida (FH)
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